Lynas Corporation Limited is now ready to move into industrial scale to test the co-product called Iron PhosphoGypsum, said its executive chairperson Nicholas Curtis.

He said Lynas will produce 64,000 tonnes of Iron PhosphoGypsum per year under Phase One and Phase Two of Lynas Advance Materials Plant (Lamp) production.

“The most likely application for Iron Phosphogypsum co-product is as road base aggregate. There are also applications for co-products in land rehabilitation and agriculture.

“Specific steps are already in place. We have commissioned a batch pilot plant, on site at the Lamp, to begin further refining the specific commercial applications together with customers in preparation for export,” he told reporters in a conference call in Kuala Lumpur today.

Curtis, who is in Sydney, Australia, received questions from Malaysian reporters via multi telephone calls, organised by Lynas Corporation Malaysia.  

Lynas has completed the construction of Phase One in Pahang last Tuesday.

NONE Curtis ( right ) said all of the specific directions Lynas has undertaken to  commercialise these co-products are environmental-friendly.

“However, we hear the community’s concern and understand the anxiety, and will undertake to seek export markets for these materials instead... We believe that marketing of these synthetic gypsum products will reduce deliver tangible sustainability goals for Lynas,” he said.

During the conference call, Curtis also said that Lynas is voluntarily taking to extinguish this community concern by converting the plant residue material into valuable co-products and exporting these co-products from Malaysia.

He said Lynas is able to do so because the co-products are safe and useful to various industries - particularly the building and agricultural sector and similar to materials produced by the mineral and oil industries that operate today.

“We have made significant progress in our research and development work on the commercial applications of co-products.

“We believe Malaysia has rigorous standards around safety and the community can be assured their concerns are being adequately addressed and safety standards are properly enforced,” he said.

On Lynas’ determination to achieve its ‘Zero Harm’ goal, Curtis said it is a necessary condition of any operation that upholds safety as the number one concern and it is not just only to the employees but to the operations within the community.

- Bernama